Thursday, December 22, 2011

I am taking a bit of a vacation starting tomorrow. I won't be back until Janurary 3, so there will be no posts until then.
Last night I let Lilly wrap Zach's sippy cups we got him. It occured to me after she had wrapped them that they didn't come with lids. Now I'm going to have to go out and get some more that have lids so we can go places with his sippy without the worry of dirt and such getting in/on the cup. Its crazy that they would even make a sippy without a lid, or even some way to cover the part they put in their mouth, ya know??!
Lilly goes to her father's today and I will get her back Saturday night. He gets to do Christmas with her Saturday and I get her on Sunday. Next year its going to be switched around.
I'm taking Tony to get a tattoo tomorrow and wrap presents. I have to remember to get all the gifts out of the closet here at work and take them home today. Saturday, we have dinner at hubby's uncle's house and a little gift exchange with some of the people there. Sunday, of course is Christmas. We'll do our thing in the morning, then head out to hubby's mom's house. When we are done there, we will go to my grandma's house and do Christmas with Dad and most of my brothers. Yesterday while I was out at the mall, I bought my brothers a game. Chris got a game for his computer, Tony got one for his XBox...its about zombies of course, and I got hubby another one for the PS3 I bought him. I also got my nephew and his (soon to be) step brothers one of those metal plates with their names on it that you put on bicycles. Yeah... my oldest brother is getting married........ on Christmas Eve!! I won't be there. There's no way I can be there. He never really told me or even invited me anyway. I heard it from Mom. I was a bride's maid in his first wedding... and not even invited to his second wedding. He has a church booked and everything, from what I hear from Mom.
Anyway.... Next week, probably Thursday, I'm going to Mom's to have Christmas with her and then to her mom's house to give grandma her stuff. After that, I'll go to my second ex-step dad's house to do Christmas with him.
A lot to do, I know, but its what I do. Holidays are actually a bit more tame these days than what they used to be. I always tried to fit everyone in on the same day and I only had Lilly for half the day. Now I have her the whole day, so that part is a little easier.
So super excited about Zach's first Christmas. I went way overboard this year with the gifts, but I'm happy and I know they will be too. Today was pajama day at the day care, so I put Zach in some pj's and sent him on his way. Babies in pajamas are some of the cutest things I've ever seen.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!!! Stay safe, stay happy.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

My boss shared this with me today and it had me cracking up, so I wanted to share it with you. What if you really did get all the things listed in the 12 days of Christmas??

On the first day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 14, 1994
Dearest John:
I went to the door today and the postman delivered
a partridge in a pear tree. What a thoroughly
delightful gift. I couldn't have been more
surprised.
With deepest love and devotion,
Agnes

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 16, 1994
Dearest John:
Oh! Aren't you the extravagant one. Now I really
must protest. I don't deserve such generosity,
Three French hens. They are just darling but I must
insist, you've been too kind.
Love,
Agnes

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 18, 1994
Dearest John:
What a surprise. Today the postman delivered 5
golden rings; one for every finger. You're just
impossible, but I love it. Frankly, all those birds
squawking were beginning to get on my nerves.
All my love,
Anges

On the sixth day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 19, 1994
Dear John:
When I opened the door there were actually 6 geese
a-laying on my front steps. So, you're back to
the birds again, huh? Those geese are huge. Where
will I ever keep them? The neighbors are
complaining and I can't sleep through the racket.
Please stop.
Cordially,
Agnes

On the seventh day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 20, 1994
John:
What's with you and those crazy birds? 7 swans
a-swimming. What kind of terrible joke is this?
There's bird crap all over the house, and they
never stop with the racket. I can't sleep at
night and I'm a nervous wreck. It's not funny.
So stop sending me all these birds!
Sincerely,
Agnes

On the eighth day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 21, 1994
O.K. Buster:
I think I prefer the birds. What am I going to do
with 8 maids a-milking? It's not enough with all
those birds and 8 maids a-milking, but they had to
bring their cows! There is crap all over the lawn
and I can't move in my own house. Just lay off me,
smart ass.
Agnes

On the ninth day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 22, 1994
Hey! Shithead,
What are you? Some kind of sadist? Now there's 9
pipers playing. And boy, do they play. They've
never stopped chasing those maids since they got
here yesterday morning. They cows are getting upset,
and they're stepping all over those screeching
birds. What am I going to do? The neighbors have
started a petition to evict me.
You'll get yours,
Agnes

with those pipers all night long. Now the cows can't
sleep and they've got the diarrhea. My living
room is a mess. The Commissioner of
Buildings has subpoenaed me to give cause why this
building shouldn't be condemned.
I'm sicking the police on you.
One who means it.

On the eleventh day of Christmas...

Miss Agnes McHolstein
69 Cash Avenue
Beaver Valley, Colorado
December 24, 1994
Listen! Looser,
What's with the 11 lords a-leaping on those maids
and ladies. Some of those broads will never walk
again. All 23 of the birds are dead. They've been

Law Offices
Badger, Bender and Cahole
303 Knave Street
Chicago, Illinois
December 25, 1994
Dear Sir:
This is to acknowledge your latest gift of 12
fiddlers fiddling which you have seen fit to
inflict on our client, Miss Agnes McHolstein.
The destruction, of course, was total. All
correspondence should come to our attention.
If you should attempt to reach Miss McHolstein
at Happy Dale Sanitarium, the attendants have
instructions to shoot you on sight. With this
letter please find attached warrant for your
arrest.
Cordially,
Badger, Bender and Cahole

I was not impressed at all by the houses we looked at. First of all, when we walked into the first house, there was a cage right by the front door with birds in it. A lady, that lives in the house we were going to look at next, came running over and barged into the house. She stayed there right beside the cage the entire time we looked at the house! I thought it was completely rude and inconsiderate. We had no privacy at all, we couldn't voice our thoughts about the house to each other or anything. This house was full of stuff. It was supposed to be empty, but the lady that barged in had stuff stored there. The person who lived in this house was her mother-in-law. The house smelled horrible of cigarettes, the kitchen was a mess, and the den was packed to the ceiling of stuff. We couldn't even walk into this room to look at it. There was a bunch of random holes in the walls all over the house. The bedrooms were small and the capet in the basement needed replaced along with the double doors downstairs too. The lady that lived there had dogs and apparently, they lived downstairs. The yard was the only nice thing about the house. There were a decks built almost all around the house and that would have been nice, but they were falling apart.
So, giving up on this house, we head next door... and the lady that had barged in to be with her birds came along too! This was her house we were going into and I guess she just had to be there too. There was a reason we made an appointment to come see the houses.... so no one would be home!! Anyway... this house is a mid-entry which I don't really like anyway. The downstairs looked ok. There was a small room with nice double doors that led to the back yard, which was a bit uneven, but big. The garage was ok too, but the decks downstairs were falling apart. We moved upstairs into the uneven kitchen. The floor was sloped a lot. The bedrooms were small, the bathrooms weren't impressive at all and the living room was a head shaker.
Come to find out that the properties between the houses were all screwed up. The white fenced that belonged to the mid-entry house was on the property of the first house and the sidewalk of the first house was half on the property of the mid-entry house. The big grown over garden of the first house was halfway over on the mid-entry houses property. It was a mess. When we went outside to discuss what we thought of the houses with our realtor, the lady with the birds followed us!!! We just told our realtor that we'll talk to her later and we left. We were both disappointed in the houses.

Christmas is only 4 days away!! Lilly goes to her father's tomorrow and she's going to have Christmas with him on Christmas Eve. I kinda hope he didn't get her the things I got her. The big stuff I got her was a Figit, a scooter and a Leapfrog Explorer with 2 games.
My little brother texted me last night wondering if I would take him to get another tattoo. This would be his second one; I took him to get his first one shortly after he turned 18 back in March. I told him the only day I could do it was Friday, but I need to make sure I have time to wrap gifts since that's really the only day I can do it. I think he's wanting to get the Celtic Knot in a triangle shape.
Tomorrow is our Christmas party here at work. We do a White Elephant gift exchange and the theme is drinking. Friday is the beginning of my vacation!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I got more gifts wrapped last night. Under the tree is looking pretty good right now. Zach was asleep when I did it all, so we will see how he does today when we get home. I have most of my family wrapped and only hubby's niece's gifts done. I'm hoping to finish up the rest of the family tonight and only have the kids and hubby to do this Friday when I take off work.
Remember when I burnt myself last week on a pizza pan? Well... this is what it looks like now... its kind of gross. I've been putting medicine on it and taking care of it, but it still looks like this and still hurts. Zach scratched it the other day and I screamed like a little baby.

We are going to look at a couple houses today. I'm really not feeling up to it. Not getting that last house was a big loss for me. It was like going through a really hard break up and I'm just not ready to start dating yet, ya know? The houses look great from the pictures online, but they don't really look like something I would want to live in. One is a mid-entry. I really don't like mid-entries. You're always going to be going up or down stairs. The house looks nice though and its a 2 car garage with a big back yard that's a bit unlevel. The other house is right beside this one. Its the last house on a dead end street. One story with a big basement. Both houses actually have the exact same square footage. The yard is smaller and there's no garage on this one. There's a cemetery right next to the houses and a horse stable down the hill. The cemetery doesn't bother me, its the smell from the stables during the summer that I'm not too keen on. Maybe I'll fall in love with one of the houses and forget all about the other house we didn't get. I'll letcha know tomorrow.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Friday we finally decorated our tree. It still looks bare in some places. I decided that I don't want to hang anything on the tree unless it has meaning or was hand made. I don't want regular bulbs on the tree. I have quite a few ornaments that Lilly made in Kindergarten. I might make one of these nights be a craft night and we make some more. We haven't really had any problems with Zach messing with the tree. At first he would walk up to it and just touch one pink light and one ornament. Every time we walked by he would poke at them.. the same ones. After an entire night of telling him "no," he has quit. I even wrapped 2 gifts and put them under the tree to see if he would bother them. So far he hasn't paid any attention. When a toy rolls under the tree, he stands there and looks at it for a bit, then he slowly reaches for it and quickly rolls it away. He knows. I think we'll be ok and I can actually start wrapping now.

Saturday was Lilly last soccer game. She did excellent. During the last quarter, Zach was getting restless, so I took him behind one of the nets and he played back there, kicking and chasing a ball. The coach gave Lilly a certificate. The games were always held in a church and that day the church had sheep for their nativity scene. We took the kids to go look at the sheep. (pictures are all going to be at the bottom this time) That night we went to hubby's sister's house to make chocolate covered pretzels and Oreos. We didn't get home until 10:00, way past Lilly and Zach's bedtime.

Sunday I took Lilly for a girls day out with my mom. We went shopping and out to eat. I didn't buy much and I helped Mom pick stuff out for my brothers. I got Lilly a new stocking since her is Cinderella and she's just a bit too old for that now. I got her a real pretty purple one. I also bought her a shirt to wear on Christmas instead of her wearing her dress. I figured she'd end up getting hot in her dress and her dressy shoes were too big anyway. I couldn't find any Christmas outfits I liked for Zach, so I'm going to look today at the mall. After I dropped Mom back off to her car I headed to hubby's sister's house again. He was there with Zach finishing up the chocolate project. Saturday we used white chocolate. Sunday was regular chocolate day.

Christmas is only 6 days away now. I'm excited, so excited, but I'm also starting to dread it a little bit. Where in the world am I going to put all the kids' toys? I was hoping for a house soon and we'd only have to deal with the mess for a short time, but now that there's no house in our near future, I'm scrambling trying to find room. Oh... I didn't mention this Friday. We didn't get the house. There was a last minute offer that came in from a different real estate agency and they won. I wanted that house so much. It was perfect. It had a yard, it was away from other houses, it has trees...lots of trees, a basement, big bedrooms, newly remodeled kitchen and a huge deck. It was perfect.

Friday, December 16, 2011

We finally got our tree up last night, but its not decorated yet. We are going to do that today. There was just no time yesterday. I left work early to do some shopping, then I headed home to finish cleaning to make room for the tree. When hubby got home, we went to his parent's house so he and his dad could look at my car to try to fix it. The defroster wasn't working, but they fixed it. I left right after they were done to get Zach to take back to hubby so I can go back to the Y and watch Lilly at soccer practice. Day care gave me a book full of Zach's artwork. I have so many feet, finger and hand prints now. Its really cute. Here's one that I took out of the book to put in my office. Also... our naked tree and a picture of a snow globe Lilly drew for me....

After Lilly's practice, we rush home so everyone can eat and we can put up the tree. Well.............. we were having frozen pizza, I was getting a pizza out of the oven when I saw there was something in my way and I couldn't put the pan down. So, I reach with my other hand to move this object..... and I bump the burning hot pan that I was holding in my other hand. Here's what I did.

Here's what it looks like this morning.

It doens't hurt that much anymore. Looks like its going to leave a nice little scar. Right in the middle of the inside of my forearm.

Oh.. and yesterday while I was leaving work.. I had just pulled out of the parking garage and onto the road. I noticed a car coming through traffic and I thought, "Hmm... that looks like my old car. I bet its not though. I always think that its my car and then its not." But as it passed I looked at the back of the car, looking for a spoiler to prove that it wasn't my old car, but to my surprise, there was no spoiler but my fairy decals on the back window!! I saw my old car yesterday. I was so excited.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Woohoo!! Last night we got things cleaned and moved around to make room for our tree. Zach's bed has been relocated and a few things have been stashed away. We are ready to get our tree up and decorate today. I'm so excited. I'm leaving work early to get some little things cleaned before we get all Christmas-y. I was going to go shopping, but the money I was relying on failed to show.
We got our second offer on the house put in yesterday. We qualified for a little higher of a loan so we just went $1,000 more on our offer, that way we can use the money we have saved up for closing costs and an inspection... and to buy curtains. Our apartment only has 2 big windows. One big double window in the living room and the same thing in the bedroom. there is an itty bitty window in the kitchen, but I don't count that one. So, yeah... we need to buy curtains.
I was actually thinking yesterday... we started the year off by having a baby. Getting a house would be a great way to end a wonderful year. Hopefully we'll hear something soon.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Yesterday I got a call from our realtor wanting our best and highest offer...the problem is that hubby already offered our best and highest............ and then some. So I had to make a call to our mortgage lady to see if we can get a higher loan, but she won't be able to run our numbers until this morning. I feel like I can't breathe. We are sooooo close to owning a house. Our realtor told me there's us and one other offer on the house. At least there's not 10 offers or something and we aren't in a war, just a battle. My grandma said that she wanted to help us out, but I told her we wanted to be able to do this on our own. I don't want to take money from her that she might need later, too. We have to put our new offer in by noon today. Then... hopefully we will know by Friday.. or Monday at the latest (I'm hoping) if the house is ours or not. I'm so nervous.
How many days are left? 11 now? Wow!!! Tomorrow I'm going to leave work a bit early so I can head out to the store. There's one more thing I want to get hubby, Lilly and Zach. I also have to pick something up for hubby's nephew and cousin and get some groceries. I need to figure out how many picture frames I need and what sizes soon. I always have given out pictures of Lilly for Christmas and this year I have two little ones to give pictures of away. We still don't have our tree up yet. It kind of really makes me sad. 11 days and no tree. Next year, the tree and decorations are going up right after the first of December. Hubby's mom sent me a picture Monday night of her tree all decorated.
Still no snow either. Its odd to not have any snow this time of the year. We've had flurries once or twice, but nothing stayed. My mom got a little bit of snow a week or so ago. It was just enough to cover the ground. So, it looks like we aren't having a white Christmas this year. No biggie. One less thing I have to worry about I guess. It can snow the week after while I'm off work so I can take the kids out to play in it.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Its been a busy weekend! Saturday we got Lilly back after her soccer game. She did a fantastic job too. You can tell she is getting way better and understands the game more. She was passing the ball and helping out her team instead of being a ball hog and she was still scoring goals. She scored about 4 this time.

After her game we went to hubby's parent's house so he could help his dad unjam a gun. Lilly wrote her letter to Santa and then we played. That night we went to the fire station for the Christmas dinner. Everyone was dressed up. Hubby was in his uniform for the fire station, Lilly had on her Santa dress from last year that still fits and her new shoes I let her have as an early Christmas present, Zach was wearing black overall bibs and a fire truck onsie, I was in my dress pants and a nice red sweater. We get there and I get Zach set up in his high chair and then I spend the next 10 minutes trying to get to my seat beside him, but people were in my way. By the time it had cleared enough for me to get by, someone took my seat! Now... would you sit beside a baby in a high chair when the only other person next to him is a 6 year old girl? Who's going to feed him? Would you? NO? Really... then why in the world would you sit there?! I was upset over that. After the lady got up to get food, I moved Zach to the end of the table, on the other side of Lilly where there was room for me. Then I picked him up and the 3 of us went to get food.

While we ate there was a slide show of the fire fighters playing, and you could tell who put it together. Some of the wives did the whole thing and just about every other picture was their husband or their kids. Ok.. I'm going to skip ahead a bit. Santa came at the end of the night. I had to change Zach since he wet himself, so we ended up being the last people in line. Lilly got up there, no problem, but Zach was not a fan. I was told that he was smiling when he first sat on Santa's knee and started crying when Santa turned his head to look at him. I didn't get to see him smiling. I had people walking and standing in front of me even though I was right in front of Santa with my camera out. So.... here's some pics...

Sunday we went to a birthday party. It was at one of those bouncy house places. Zach wasn't a fan of the bouncy houses. Lilly played hard and Zach just walked around and chased balloons. Santa was here too and I was hoping Zach would like him this time since he was so tired the night before. NOPE! Here's some pictures from there too.

Friday, December 9, 2011

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!
Ok, I've been dying to scream that and now that I have it out of my system I feel better.
I had this idea for my grandparents. For my dad's parents, I want to get them soup bowls that have a little place built in for crackers. I have found some online, but I have yet to secure them. They eat soup seriously all the time. Its actually a toss up between those bowls and some other bowls that look like they have the Campbell soup label around them. For my mom's parents I was thinking about making them something. I was going to put some lights and potpourri in a Mason jar. It doesn't seem like much, but its pretty and I know they will like it. My grandma cans her own veggies. I just gotta get all the stuff together and find the time to do it.
I heard a lot of bad news yesterday; another shooting at Virginia Tech and a 5 alarm fire in St. Louis. Hubby went to a funeral last night of a volunteer fire fighter that died on duty. He was looking over a bridge to locate a fire (railroad ties had caught fire) and he fell a few days ago. The guy who actually set fire to the tracks turned himself in Wednesday.
This weekend is full of stuff to do. Tomorrow, Lilly has a soccer game and I get her back after that from her father. Then, we have a Christmas dinner to go to at the fire station and Santa is going to be there. I bought Lilly some dressy shoes, they are adorable, for her to wear tomorrow. She hasn't seen them yet. I wrapped them up and I'm going to tell her its an early Christmas present. I know she'll be excited. I just hope they fit. Sunday, we have a double birthday party to go to at one of those inflatable jumping places.... and Santa is going to be there too. I definitely have to charge my camera tonight.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Tuesday afternoon, I noticed that the house we want was up on a website, but not one that can be trusted. This website has listed houses that weren't actually for sale before. So, to be safe, I sent our realtor an email and she said that it was going to be officially listed on Wednesday. I asked her if we could meet and we set up a meeting for Wednesday at 4:00.
Wednesday morning, I wake up sick. I go do my thing and when I come back to bed, I nudge hubby and tell him he has to be the one to take the kids to the Y and that he needs to get up soon or he'll be late to work. Long story short, he was late. I ended up laying in bed all day and I was so sore. My muscles ached and my joints were stiff. My bed and pillow felt like I was laying on bricks. Then, around 2:00 I get up and make myself take a hot shower so I won't look too gross when I meet with the realtor. I was not going to miss that meeting.
Me and hubby get there and we sign our contract on the house and we make an offer. If they decide to go with us, he will continue further. If they don't decide to go with us, I will cry. This is the furthest we've ever gotten to owning a house. My fingers are crossed. The realtor said that there has been a lot of interest in this house. I don't want to get too excited in case we don't get it. I just really want this house.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

I love this time of the year... between Thanksgiving and Christmas when the air is cool, leaves are falling off the trees, Christmas decorations are up and Christmas songs are on the radio. It all just puts me in such a good mood. I smile while I stand in long lines in stores and I wave to my neighboring car while at a red light. I guess you could say that I am definitely in the Holiday spirit.

There are so many lights that are up in my area now and me and Lilly are loving them. Zach doesn't really pay much attention, but I doubt he can see much from his car seat anyway. There are a few places close to home that are doing a light show that I would love to take the kids to. I've only been to one and that was 7 years ago when I was pregnant with Lilly. 7 is the magic number, its time to go again!

We don't have any decorations up, we still don't even have a spot to put our tree! I did a little cleaning Sunday and told hubby that the rest was his and he has yet to do anything with it. I always like to have Christmas decorations up the first weekend of December, but hubby likes to wait until the last possible minute. Next year, I'm not going to wait for him to decide he wants to do it. Next year we will have a house and have our stuff there instead of being stashed in someone else's garage or my storage building. Next year, I will just start putting stuff up and if he wants to join in, he can. Of course I won't decorate the tree. I'll just bring the box up and sit it in the middle of the floor. I won't even put it up, ok, unless he takes forever. Putting it up is his and Lilly's thing and one day will be Zach's too. I don't want to take that away from him. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I am dying to decorate. I want to decorate. I want our house to be all Christmas-y. I want lights on our porch. I want our tree up. I want to be able to start wrapping gifts.

Yes, the countdown is ON. 18 days and some odd hours until Christmas! I do believe I have gone a bit overboard this year. Last year, I spent around $800 for everyone and Lilly got a lot of things, but this year she got more and Zach has just as many and I'm still shopping. I've spent over $600 on the kids this year!!! I think I'm just too excited. Ok... the $600 isn't just for Christmas, I bought them some birthday stuff too. Then between everyone else, I spent probably another $500 and I'm still not done. I need to go get picture frames for some family members to put pictures of the kids in it and if possible, try to figure out something to get my grandparents other than pictures. They are all I have left, if I'm going to get them something else. I can't seem to find anything.

What happened to this year? It just flew right on by and I barely noticed, it seems. This time last year, I was huge. I was pregnant. I was waiting the arrival of my beautiful baby boy. And now, I'm buying him a rocking horse for his first birthday. He is one of the main reasons I'm so excited this year for Christmas. The first Christmas is always so wonderful. He is almost one year old! Its been a busy year. Its been an exhausting year...and I can't believe its almost over. We've had parties, t-ball games, soccer games, picnics, fireworks, camping trips, fishing adventures, dirty diapers in the middle of the woods, a new car, excitement over a house, tears over a house, doctor appointments, shots, sickness, funerals, arrivals of more babies, costumes, cookouts, a couple weddings, sunburns, a visit to a museum, a talent show, spit up on all my clothes and thousands of pictures. I wonder what 2012 has in store.........

Monday, December 5, 2011

I remember growing up I had a few toys that I loved and adored. First, I had this stuffed Koala bear that I had named Dollar. I remember the day I named it. I was trying to name it Daughter, but it came out as Dollar, and so it was. I had to have been 3 or so. I loved that thing. I carried it everywhere. I can't recall what exactly happened to it, but it disappeared. Shortly after that I got an orange stuffed cat I named Orange, original I know. I also got a Cabbage Patch doll. I don't remember her name, but I didn't have her long before I grabbed a pen and gave her chicken pox. I had Orange until I was about 7 when my parents divorced and I lost him in the move. After that, I don't really remember having any kind of attachment to a toy or anything of the sort. I do remember that year after my parents divorced the only present I got for Christmas was a little Mickey Mouse piano. I taught myself how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday on that thing. It kept me occupied through some tough times.

I guess after that my radio and walkman were my favorite things. That and my journal where I wrote endless poems and short stories. Those things got me through the next few years.

Anyway, I bring this up because I see on tv where kids have strong attachments to toys or have security blankets and such. I don't think I was so attached to any toy that I couldn't function without it. Thankfully neither of my kids have a strong attachment... yet anyway. Zach's still a little young to know for sure.

Lilly's favorite stuffed animal is a little butterfly my best friends gave her last year for Christmas. She sleeps with it, but she doesn't NEED it to sleep. Other than that, I don't think she has another favorite toy or anything. She plays with all her toys equally.

Zach has recently become attached to one of Lilly's toys. Its the Fisher Price laugh and learn dog. I got him one for Christmas, so at least I know he'll like it. Lilly's had hers since her first Christmas. He also loves this other dog from V-tech. It hangs on his bed and when you push its nose it lights up and sings. I can't wait until Christmas when he gets more toys. When he was just a couple months old, he was very attached to this blue dog that had that crinkle stuff in it. I always made sure I had that thing wherever we went. I guess he grew out of it or forgot about it.

Oh, Lilly had a blanket. I remember now. It was one that the hospital gave us when she was born. It was white, pink and blue. She called it her blue blanket. She had to have that thing to sleep with until she was about 4... even for naps. How could I have forgotten about that thing? My youngest brother also had a blanket he needed. He didn't get it until he was about 5, it was an Elmo blanket. He still has it, but I don't think he still sleeps with it.

What about you? Have you had a favorite toy that you just absolutely loved?

Thursday I had to leave work early again because Zach was sick. Day care called and said that he was vomiting, so I had to leave. I got there and took him home. He threw up all over himself before I could get him out of the car. I gave him Pedialite and it came right back up. He vomited about 2 more times in the house and then he was done. Friday I kept him home to keep an eye on him and he was fine the entire day. He even ate food and kept it down with no problems.
Saturday at 6:30, Lilly wakes up and she's sick. Thankfully I didn't tell her I was going to take her to breakfast with Santa. She was so upset that she was going to miss her soccer game. Luckily hubby came home Friday night, so I had some help this time. It was so hard keeping Zach away from Lilly. He sure does love his sissy. 12 hours later, she stopped throwing up. Sunday everyone was fine.
I'm hoping everyone stays fine and I can work a full day. Other than everyone being sick, there really was nothing else that happened and I'm too tired to think of any thing else to write about right now. I swear I only got 3 hours of sleep last night and its been that way for a few days now. Between hubby's coughing from his cold, the kids being sick, Zach just waking up and my brain just wanting to talk and talk, I haven't slept in a while.
Here's some pictures of the kids from yesterday. It was pretty outside and they were feeling fine, so we went out for a little bit.

See her front teeth there... she calls those her vampire teeth. They grew like that. I belive it was from her sippy cups. She had the hard ones and some certain someones kept giving them to her way after she needed them.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

I know I'm running a bit behind on posting. I've been running out of time lately. I left work early Tuesday so Zach could get the second dose of his flu shot and I left early yesterday too. I've been a busy bee. Lilly has soccer practice today, so I'll probably stay at work later than usual. Practice is at day care, so I don't have to worry about getting her anywhere.
Tuesday... what did we do Tuesday. We played all night. I don't even remember turning the tv on until the kids were in bed. Zach's getting good at playing hide and seek. He likes to find you. Lilly goes from one room to the other and he follows. He'll look for you until he finds you or you pop out somewhere and he giggles every time. I love it! Zach's flu shot was Tuesday too. I left work early to go get him and take him to the doctor. He had fun in the waiting room playing with the other kids and rolling the lid to his sippy cup around on the floor. The shot took 2 seconds and he didn't even make a noise, didn't even make any kind of face either.
Wednesday I left work early again. Took the kids to Taco Bell for some tacos. Zach ate an entire cheese roll up all by himself. Then we headed to Walmart to shop for a Christmas gift to give hubby. Lilly picked out a hat with his favorite NASCAR driver on it and I decided to put the kids name on a PS3 game I bought him. Hubby ended up surprising us and coming home around 8:00 last night. He's been out hunting and we haven't seen him in what feels like forever. He talked to Lilly a bit, she was already in bed. Then he played with Zach. We sat and watch tv. He told me about his week and how he feels sick. He did get one deer. I told him when he left last week that he couldn't come home unless he got a deer. hahaha. Maybe he thought I was serious since he came home the day he got one. He's heading back out today to his uncle's "farm" and won't be back until Saturday. Hubby got to move Dee last night. He put the elf on top of Lilly's tv. She didn't find him this morning. She'll be excited to find him when she gets home today.
Saturday I was hoping to be able to take the kids to the city parade, but Lilly has a soccer game at 11:30 and the parade starts at 10:00. There's no way we can make it to the soccer game in time if we go. Luckily, though, the day care is doing breakfast with Santa. I did this last year with Lilly before we headed out to the parade. You go to the day care, eat breakfast, the kids can do some crafts and get their picture with Santa. I'm not 100% sure we are going to do that yet.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

My goal this week is to clean up and rearrange the apartment so we have somewhere to put our Christmas tree. I don't think its going to happen. I just don't have the time.... unless I want to stay up really late after the kids go to bed to work on it. It'll be easier when hubby gets back from hunting...but that won't be until Saturday.

I'm pretty much done with all my shopping. I just have my grandparents, my step brother's kid, my oldest brother and his girlfriend left to shop for. I think I'll just get them all some ornaments or the tree. There's this new store in the mall that sells nothing but Christmas ornaments. There's Elvis, Betty Boop, hunting ones, high heel shoes, Charlie Brown, The Grinch, wine glasses, pianos, sports, the Beatles... oh, the list just goes on and on. I did buy some already. I got my mom Rudolph on a sleigh, my step dad Walter from Jeff Dunham, Lilly and Zach just got 2 little balls with snowmen on them and their names with the year. We still have to get Zach's first Christmas ornament, but I don't want to get one without hubby.

Work is already decorating for the holidays. There is light up reindeer outside and trees inside. Here's a picture of the trees.

Hubby's mom gave me a book and elf. Its called Elf on the Shelf and Lilly loves it. The elf magically shows up around Thanksgiving and watches you all day. Then, at night he leaves and reports to Santa about if you've been good or bad and then comes back in the morning. Every morning he is in a different spot. No one can touch him or he'll lose his magic and will never come back. You can tell him your wishes, what you want for Christmas and he'll go back and tell Santa that too. I put him up on top of the dresser mirror Sunday night so he'll be there when Lilly came home on Monday. She was so excited to see him. She couldn't wait to try to find him this morning. He was in the entertainment center right beside the TV. So, it gives me a new tradition to begin with my kids. You get to name the elf too. Lilly named him "Dee" so Zach could say his name too... that's all Zach says anymore. He says 'Dee' and 'sissy' and that's about it. He use to say a lot more. Oh, I wish you could have seen his face yesterday when Lilly walked into the nursery with me to get Zach. He stood up and pointed and yelled, "Sissy!" over and over again. He's walking a lot more too. He was all over the apartment yesterday.

Last night, after I put Lilly to bed I had Zach in the living room watching tv. He crawled off the couch and was headed to the bedroom. I said NO and he stopped... still on his hands and knees. I sat there and watch him. After a few seconds he lifted his knee up to take off crawling and I said NO again. He stopped just like before. A few more seconds passed and he lifted his knee up again. I waited to see what he was going to do. He started to crawl away very slowly. I said NO again. He stopped, looked back at me and laughed. A couple seconds passed and he started to go again, before I could tell him NO he took off like a rocket to the bedroom. By the time I got in there, he was already standing up beside Lilly's bed. I grabbed him and told him "No, sissy go night night" and took him back into the living room. He tried it again, slowly crawling toward the bedroom. This time when I told him NO he stopped and laid down on a pillow. It was so comical.

I don't really know exactly what I'm going to get into this week with the kids. We'll see, I guess.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Wednesday night was spent making cheesecakes and trying to pack everything for Zach for 2 days and make sure I had everything I needed for Friday. I wasn't going to go home after I left in the morning.

Thanksgiving went ok. Its really crowded at my moms moms house. I only had 2 of my brothers there. My oldest and my youngest, Josh and Donavan. Zach ate sooo much. The kids and I stayed there for about 2 hours before we moved on to my other grandma's house. Waaay less crowded there. Dad was in a mood. He hardly said anything and when he did, it was kind of rude...but that's Dad. Chris was there and in a good mood, as long as he was away from Dad. Grandma had burns on her arm from cooking, I felt so bad for her. Tony had to work and couldn't be there until after 4... but by then I was going to be gone. Lilly ate a little bit, Zach wouldn't and I gobbled down a deviled egg, a bit of turkey and some corn. Chris was very excited about the cheesecake I made. I made it for him and Tony, a chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake. That's right. Josh showed up later.

So about 3:30 I left to go to hubby's sister's house the same time Chris left to go get Tony from work. Zach fell asleep on the way there. As soon as we walked through the door, I put Zach's carseat beside a big chair and I crashed while Zach slept. Lilly played with the kids, she was too full to even try to eat anything. We woke up and spent a bit of time with hubby since he's been gone hunting. Zach ate some dessert and I stuffed my face with more food. Lilly got a rug burn sliding down the carpeted stairs on her tummy. We stayed until about 6:00 and I gathered my kids and went back to my grandma's house where my brothers were. Tony was still there and Dad was brooding in the corner. Tony told him that he wanted to stay until I got there, but when I got there, Tony announced that him and Chris were going out. Dad just stood up and walked out the door.

Lilly's father showed up shortly after and CJ too. I said my goodbye to Lilly and warned her father about the rug burn. I gave grandma instructions on Zach, set up his pack-n-play, organized my go bag, and headed out the door with CJ.

We got to Target about 8:30 and wasn't too far back, but I was surprised at how many people were lined up already. We were about 150-200 people back, maybe. About an hour into it, Chris and Tony comes rolling up. They say there were at Walmart just to see the crowd and were going to go to a movie. Chris saw me shivering and got a coat out of his car for me. I was wearing one, but it was REALLY cold.

10:30 I get a call from my uncle saying that grandma is sick and I need to come get Zach. Target wasn't going to open until midnight. I called hubby's sister and asked her if she could watch Zach whenever she is done since she was just going to Walmart and then going home. She said she would and she would meet me at my house with him when she's done. So... me and CJ got out of line at our great spot and headed to grandma's house. Zach was asleep. I got him dressed and in the car without waking him up. On my way home I called hubby's brother-in-law and told him that his wife agreed to watch Zach but I was wondering if I could just go ahead and bring him there. He said it was fine. CJ went to my house to wait for me while I treaded on. Hubby's 12 year old niece was still awake and she said she'd take care of Zach for me. I gave her instructions, set up his pack and play and told her to call me if she had any questions or problems. Knowing her mother would be home soon, I left without any worries.

I meet CJ at my house and we head BACK to Target. By this time its already open, its about 12:20 when we pull into the parking lot and I see red flashing lights. We get out of the car and there's 2 ambulances and a fire truck and a few cop cars with more coming. We jump in line and we hear that a guy had a seizure. We later learn that he had a heart attack as soon as he got in the doors and only 3 people stopped to help him. He hit his head when he fell and was bleeding, and people were just going around him. He was in need of help, having a heart attack and yet toys are more important to these people. I still want to cry just thinking about it. I wasn't there when it happened, but I know damn well I would have tried to do something. I don't know CPR, but CJ does. I would have tried to do something. A nurse, a doctor and one employee tried to help him. He was taken to the hospital and later passed away. By the time we got in the doors, he was in the ambulance.

There were no carts left for us to grab and we forgot to grab our shopping bags. No biggie, we thought. Luckily I got hubby's mom to get hubby's gift for me since I had to leave Target line and there was no way I could get there in time to get the PS3. We didn't spend too much time shopping. We first headed to the toys and grabbed a firepit on our way there. I got Lilly's crayon maker and ran to where Zach's activity table was supposed to be. It was gone. We went to the movies and I grabbed Transformers 3, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Red. CJ got New Moon, Eclipse and a few more. I decided I wanted to go back to the toys to look for the table. I found an employee who went and got one for me! I got everything I wanted to get at Target. We got in line and it zig zagged through the isles. About an hour passed before we made it to checkout.

We hopped in the car and drove to Walmart. CJ's main thing to get there was a crockpot, but it was all gone. I got hubby a game for his PS3. I got Lilly some tattoos to put in her stocking and some zoobles. Zach got some balls and cars. The board game I was wanting for Lilly was gone and so was the Monster High dolls that was on sale. We were in Walmart about an hour before we gave up on looking for stuff. I found a crock pot for CJ in one of the carts that was by the registers full of stuff no one wanted. Turns out it wasn't the one that was on sale. While I was going through the carts, I get a text from my 12 year old baby sitter saying Zach is awake and won't go back to sleep. I told her to feed him, rock him, change him and sing to him. (He was having a bad day and a tooth was bothering him, usually just a bottle will calm him down) 10 minutes later she told me he went to sleep. We leave Walmart a bit disappointed and go to Toys-r-Us for one toy on my list for Zach for his birthday. Its originally $30, but was on sale for $12.49. We pull in the parking lot and there's not a lot of cars and I don't see a line when I look inside. We go in and look around a bit and I grab Zach's toy. Then we try to go to the registers...... and we find the line. I told CJ that this toy isn't that important, put it down and we leave.

We got to Kolh's next. That's where I was going to get a lot of toys for Zach. Fisherprice toys were on a great sale here. I got him a laugh and learn puppy, a laugh and learn soccer ball, a music book, something else I can't remember and Lilly a Pictionary card game. The line was long, but it went by fast. (Oh, and I was giving out Thank You cards and candy canes to all the cashiers who checked me out. The lady at Kolh's seemed very happy to get hers. CJ was giving hers out to any employees who helped us out)

After Kolh's we went to the mall. I wanted to get a stacking toy for Zach at JC Penny's, but they were all out by the time we got there. We got there at 4:50 and they opened at 4:00. Then we walked down to Gamestop to pick up a game for hubby..... then we left the mall. $1.75 to park for that.

K-mart was next. We got to them a little after 5:30 and they opened at 5:00. The lines were already gone. I got quite a lot here. I got Lilly a little purple sock monkey, a magic kit, some mighty beans, more zoobles, a monster high doll and walkie talkies that looked like cell phones. I got Zach a ball and my nephew a light saber.

After K-Mart we went and got breakfast at McDonalds, then back to K-Mart so CJ could pick up some clocks. Then we went to Big Lots and all I got there was a marshmallow gun for mom's boyfriend's grandson and stacking cups for Zach. Then we went back to K-Mart so CJ could get 2 more clocks. Then we went to Rite Aide and got our wrapping paper (buy one get 2 free) and Zach's rocking horse.

By this time my right eye was red and burning. I thought I had pink eye, so we called it quits and headed back to my house. We carried all my stuff upstairs, CJ left and I went to go get Zach.

Saturday, hubby's sister sends me a text to ask if I'll watch her 2 littlest ones while she takes her 12 year old to get a CT scan. She went ice skating with friends and hit her head real hard and was having bad headaches. After I babysat, I went to my mother-in-laws house to pay her for hubby's PS3. Hubby called and said he was home, so after Zach woke up from his nap, I went home.

Whew.... here's some pictures from this weekend....

Here's a bruise I on my left arm I noticed after I got home Friday. I believe its from carrying toys through Target.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating tomorrow. I will be out until Monday again. I don't really have much to say right now. I've been doing nothing but planning for Friday. Watch, with my luck everything will go bad. I'll try to take pictures of the crowds and post them on here Monday with my story of how I survived. I'm not even thinking about Thanksgiving. I haven't even gone to the store to get the stuff I need to make my cheesecakes I'm taking to my family's houses. I've even been having dreams of Black Friday. I'm alway in line at Target and something goes wrong. Last night I woke up after my dream and then that's all I could think of. I couldn't go back to sleep for hours. I finally told my brain to think of something else... and you want to know what it decided to think of?... What would I do if zombies attacked?!!!!!!!! Really? That's what you think about? Crazy brain. No sleep makes me think of weird things I guess.
So here's the run down of what I expect to happen. Thursday, be at my moms moms house at noon. Eat. Leave and go to my dads moms house. Eat. Leave and try to be at my sister-in-laws house around 4 or 5. Eat. Get kids to grandma's no later than 9. Meet my friend at grandma's house. Wait for Lilly's father to pick her up. Spend a few more minutes with Zach. Leave to go get in line at Target. Target opens at midnight. Shop. Go to Walmart. Shop. Go to Kohls. Shop. Go to Toys-r-Us for one toy. Breakfast? Go to Sporting Goods store to look around. Dollar store, shop. Kmart, shop. Big Lots, shop. Go to mall. Coffee. Shop in at least 4 stores there. Eat lunch. Rite Aide, get wrapping paper... its going to be buy one roll get two free. Can't beat that. Another dollar store, shop. Magic Mart, shop. If we still have any energy and its not too late, we might go to the movies to see Breaking Dawn. I doubt we will make it there. After we are done I go to grandma's to get Zach and head home to unpack all the things and figure out where I'm going to put them. Then, I'll probably go out to dinner with mother-in-law like last year. Go home and try to get Zach to sleep at a decent time.
Busy. Gonna drink lots of coffee. See ya on Monday!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

So, my vacation was uneventful. I didn't really do much. I wanted to clean, but I hardly got anything like that done.

Hubby took me and Zach to Toys-r-Us and we shopped a little for Christmas. We got a lot of things that aren't going on sale on Black Friday. We even picked up something for Lilly's birthday.

My bff and I have been super planning for Friday. I have babysitters, color coded sheets, a list of things I'm definitely going to buy and where, a list of things that I might get if I have money...its things that aren't on sale that can wait, a list of things we need to survive and my go bag packed. My go bag has all my survival gear in it... hand sanitizer, pens, paper, snacks....things like that. Super excited! Our plan is to line up at Target really early while a lot of people are at Walmart and Toys-r-Us. We'll get a good spot there, hopefully.

I had bought some colored cookie dough from a fundraiser Lilly was doing for the Y and we finally made some last night. The blue cookie dough turns your mouth colors.

This is a picture of the cookies befor I baked them. Still ooey gooey.

Lilly has been doing great with soccer. Her first game, she scored 5 goals. Her second game she scored 3, and she was feeling sick. They were also alternating her team members in and out. There were way more kids from her team that showed up that day. Here's a pic of her first game. You see all the blue kids on the left...well Lilly is the first kid in the red to the right of the blue. She's running.

Went to Lilly's school on Thursday for the Thanksgiving lunch. It seemed more organized this year. I think less parents showed up for Lilly's class than last year, so we went through the line pretty quick. I sat with Lilly, Zach and 3 of Lilly's friends. About 5 minutes before we were going to get up, hubby's nephew came to sit with us. I had lunch with 4 first graders, a second grader and a baby. Zach ate all my turkey and a bit of Lilly's pumpkin pie. I think he's going to enjoy Thanksgiving. We have 3 houses to go to.

I came to work after my vacation to find out that they are wanting to cut my overtime. Without my overtime I can't pay day care. I don't know what they expect me to do. A raise has been up in the air for nearly a year now and nothing has happened with it. I need something now. I need something quick. I can't go on like this. I wish I lived in a world where money didn't matter as much as it does.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Oh, there's just so much planning. I'm still obsessing over Black Friday especially since Walmart has finally up their ad out. They, along with Toys r us so far, are opening at 10pm on Thanksgiving. We are going to have to start even earlier this year. I'm afraid that the things I really want are going to be gone. I don't think I can make it there in time to get hubby's gift and its the cheapest at Walmart so far. I'm still waiting for Target to release theirs. Maybe theirs will be as good. I just don't know when I'm going to leave hubby's sister's house for Thanksgiving and even then I have to drive 20 miles away to drop Zach off to my grandma and Lilly off to her father. I think I'm going to ask hubby's mom is she can get hubby's gift for me if I give her the money. She is a Black Friday junkie too.
So, I am taking a vacation next week. Well... I guess if offically starts tomorrow. I won't be back until the 21st, so there will be no update to this blog or my other one.. http://smilesareeverywhere.blogspot.com/
You can bet your hiney that I'll be freaking out about shopping during that time off. I'll be freaking out until its all over.
Well.. take care everyone and be sure to come back on the 21st for a new post!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I threw an idea at my best friend, CJ yesterday. I was wanting to surprise her, but I needed her input. I want to make shirts for Black Friday. Hers would be green and mine would be purple, since that's our favorite colors, and it would say something clever on the front and then say "Black Friday 2011" on the back. We finally figured up all the years, and this year is our 5 year.... anniversary? Is that what you would call it? An anniversary? Well....that's what I'm going to call it since I can't come up with a better word. If you have a better word, leave it in the comments for me. 5 years. Wow..... its hard to believe. We've come a long way since that first year. We wasn't at all prepared on our first year. We didn't know what to expect. Huge lines, angry people, snow, rain, 3 hour waits, no sleep, getting lost in the crowd... we enjoy every single second of it now. I am more prepared this year. I have planned much better this time. I have pictures of the things I'm going to buy, that way I can just show CJ what to be on the lookout for instead of saying something like, "Can you help me find a VTech activity ball or the Loving Family Dollhouse rooms... I still need the parents room and try to find the van too." Pictures are much better. It helps me too.
The countdown is ON....16 days until we go shopping!
I am taking a vacation next week. Nothing special, I just need to take it or I lose it. I have next week, Black Friday and the entire week after Christmas scheduled off. Saves me on day care too. I do still have to pay for Lilly even though she's not going to be there. I was upset at first, but the front desk lady explained that the day care keeps the kids on snow days and early outs without charging extra. Not such a big deal anymore. I was putting that money back for Christmas, but Lilly is cheaper at the Y than Zach is. Oh, I also have this Friday off. Its Veteran's Day here and its a Federal holiday, so I stay home in hopes of sleeping in and probably visiting my great-grandpa's grave. He was a veteran and it would have been his birthday as well. I usually pick up my grandma and we take him flowers and sing him Happy Birthday. I won't have Lilly this year though.
I had a weird dream last night, in the short time I actually slept. A guy that I went to high school with and have kept in contact with in real life was in my dream. He wrote some kind of speech and I was going to read it in front of a bunch of people but the speech was horrible and I was booed off the stage. I ran to my house in into my bedroom, but it was my bedroom from the house I lived in when I was 13. There was also a dog somewhere in there and cold coffee as well. I remember Lilly running off with my coffee toward the end of my dream, but by then I was at my grandma's house. Weird.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

My daughter has said that she wants to be a heart doctor, but recently it has changed to an animal doctor. I know that her mind will change several more times as the years pass, but I will support her no matter what she chooses. She is a very outgoing little girl, but a little shy at times. She makes friends very easily and has a memory like an elephant. She is a very smart child, but she can't sit still very long to study. Last night I was quizzing her on her spelling words and she got every one right, but she had to dance around and roll all over the bed to do it. I'm glad that she's active, but it worries me a bit. She is great at sports, so a part of me can see her as a professional athlete.

I wonder what Zach will be like. He's already a huge flirt and so very happy. He's adventurous and curious. I bet he will want to be something great too. A doctor? An athlete? A fireman? Only time will tell.

I've given some thought about going back to school. I don't know what I would go for though. I use to want to be a teacher, but I'm not so sure anymore. Maybe only time will tell with that too.

Today I'm a very proud mama. I finally remembered to bring the coffee cup Lilly painted for me to work. I love carrying it around and showing it off.

Uh oh... you can kind of see my messy desk...
Here's some picture of the kids playing yesterday. Zach was trying to eat his toy and it was just so funny!

Yes... my kids are my life. They make me so very happy, that's why I talk about them so much. They make my life interesting. They give me something to look forward to each day. They make me smile and laugh. I didn't want to be that parent that constantly talked about her kids... but I do. I try not to when in actual conversation with a person face to face. Its difficult

Monday, November 7, 2011

I sold my car. I'm happy and sad at the same time. I'm glad that's its no longer in my way and now we have some money from it, but it was my car. The first car I paid off. I've had that car longer than I've been with my husband. Well...its gone now. We got $1,500 out of it. I got $200 of that money to put toward my Christmas fund.
Zach says sissy now. He follows Lilly through the house saying, "Sissy" over and over again. For the longest time he was hissing, like a snake, but I guess that was just him trying to say sissy. He doesn't say mom or dad much anymore. He does babble a lot. He takes his socks off now too. Its kind of frustrating to get him all dressed up and then turn around to see him barefoot. Cute, but frustrating.
My bff has learned that she is indeed moving to New York. She was here in West Virginia, then she moved to Virginia. There was a scare that she was going to move to California, but its New York now. Her husband has a great opportunity up there. I just can't believe that she's moving farther away. Good news is that she is coming in for some Black Friday shopping. I think I'm more excited than she is this year. Last year, she was so excited and I was just sort of there and didn't really get excited about it until we were all in the mess of things.
The weather was nice this weekend so I took the kids out to play for a bit. Here's some cute pictures...

Lilly's dropping handfuls of leaves around Zach in the last picture. I thought he would love it, but he didn't seem all that interested.
I was watching a few shows on the DVR yesterday that kind of made me sad. It was about the parents realizing that their kids are growing up. Made me sad because I know that mine are going to. It was the episode of The Middle where Sue goes to some Halloween parties and wears clothes that's in style and then the episode of Modern Family where Phil takes Haley to visit college. That's going to be me one day. Time is flying by. It seriously seems just like yesterday that I was in the hospital having Lilly yelling at her father to quit talking. Great memories. Now she's almost 7!! I'm getting her a real camera for her birthday, well...I've already bought it. She plays sports. I'm very proud of her, but I don't want her to grow up. While we were watching the shows last night, me and hubby told Lilly she has to stop growing. Then we came to the conclusion that she can just go backwards to 2 years old. It made her giggle. I love my kids so much.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I signed Lilly up to play indoor soccer. She's never played before so she was very nervous and very excited. Yesterday was the first practice. We met at a church in their gym and there was a lot of kid there, but most of them were way older. Only 3 kids (counting Lilly) on Lilly's team showed up yesterday. I hope more shows up. I don't want them to not have a team, she's so looking forward to playing. The coach informed us that he is going to also do outdoor soccer later, so she'll probably end up doing that too, as long as it doesn't interfere with softball. She loves softball too. So here's some pics I took of her practicing. I tried to get more, but she was just so fast and she ended up being blurry.

She's a little blurry. This is right after she picked out the ball she wanted to use and she found a little friend she knows.

I have no idea what she was doing.

That's Lilly waaaaaay over there kicking the ball and running.

Zach ended up in the nursery at the church for a bit. He wanted down to play, but I didn't want him to get run over, so we went here and he played for a little bit.

Here's a picture of him after we got home. He's playing with Lilly's toy phone. Lilly said he was talking to his girlfriend, Bella.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Lilly's first day of soccer is today. The coach said its just going to be an hour of the kids running around. He wants to see if any of them have any 'skills' or whatever. She's super excited about it and so am I.
About 2 weeks ago I bought Lilly a camera that I was going to give her for Christmas. It was one of those kid cameras that is like a tank. You can drop it or throw it and it'll be ok. After a lot of thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that this camera (it was one of those Discovery kids cameras) was a little too baby-ish for Lilly. She's almost 7, not 3. So..... I decided to take the camera back yesterday and get my money back. I had seen this one camera that I wanted to get her online and it was half the price. Still a kid camera, but not a tank. I went to the store, receipt in hand and told the cashier that I wanted to return the camera. She looked at me funny and I assured her that I had not even opened it, I just wanted something more 'grown up' for my daughter. She said that I was past the 10 day return policy.........by only 4 days!!! She said she could give me store credit and I just sort of stared at her. I would have taken it, but the manager came by and showed me another camera. Its a Vivitar and was $80-a much more grown up camera. I would even like to have this one. The camera I was trying to take back was $40. I held the new camera and told them I didn't think so, I wasn't going to spend $80 on a camera for a 7 year old. $40 was a stretch. The manager took the cashier to a corner away from me and they huddled and whispered. The cashier then looked at me and said that she would do an even trade. What? Do my ears deceive me? I try to look unexcited and tell her thank you, I'll do that. I'll take the new camera. When I got out of the store, I did a little happy dance. I got an $80 camera for 50% off!! And its not even a big shopping day where there are good sales.
I got to see my best friend yesterday. I hadn't seen her since her wedding day back in August. We only had an hour together, though. She was with me during the whole camera ordeal. We even discreetly high fived while the cashier was ringing me up. My bff treated me to some coffee at a new coffee/tea place in the mall. Its called TeaCo. She ordered a Chai Tea and I ordered a Caramel Mocha. The lady behind the counter handed us each our drinks and told us what they were. Well... of course we couldn't drink it right away since it was so hot. My bff dropped me back off at work and a few minutes later I took a drink of my mocha.... it was kind of gross and tasted a bit like pumpkin. Then, my bff called and said that she is not happy with her drink. The lady got our drinks switched! Now I don't know if I like that place since I didn't get to taste the drink I had ordered. I got some gross pumpkin-y drink. I don't like anything pumpkin. I don't even like pumpkin pie...yeah, I know I'm crazy.
So anyway... I think I've decided to save Lilly's camera for her birthday in March. Then, I can get her all kinds of stuff to go with it- a case, photo album, some scrapbook stuff.... I'm actually really excited about it. Last year for her birthday, her big present was a diskman and 2 CD's and she was so happy about that she almost fell out of her seat. I would like to repeat that as often as possible. I was originally going to get her a Leap Frog Leapster Explorer for her birthday. Its a learning hand held game. That was going to be her big gift, but I'm going to give her that for Christmas now along with her scooter for her big gifts.
Seriously, Christmas has taken over my mind. That's all I think about.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Last night was a lot of fun. Everyone got along, no one whined...no much. It was cold though, real cold. The kids lasted the entire 2 hours, well, ok Zach was asleep around 7:30, but woke up 10 minutes later. We did end up going with hubby's sister and her kids. First we did the trunk-or-treat at the church with the cars, but that only lasted 15 minutes at the most. Then, we packed the kids up and went down a side street that had many other side streets. By the time we got here it was just too dark to take any pictures. I did get one, but its far away. I ended up carrying Zach for a little bit. He was getting really excited and wanted out of his stroller. When he was in his stroller he was shoving his hand down his bucket and getting out handfuls of candy to play with and chew on.
The kids came out of there with their buckets completely full. We ended up pouring them out in a bag halfway through because I didn't want any to spill out. They even got some glow sticks, which I think is a wonderful idea. This one house was giving the babies glow stick necklaces and the bigger kids full sized candy bars. Everyone had fun. I thought that Zach would sleep through the night due to all the excitement, but he didn't. It was the complete opposite. He woke up every 45 minutes or so. As soon as I'd get to bed and get comfy, he'd be awake. I think he was just too tired, and then he got a stuffy nose around 3:00 this morning...anyway...here's the pics of the kids!

Here's the kids playing with their buckets before we left the house. They were in their match skeleton shirts.

Here's the only picture I got of the kids at a house. There's Lilly climbing the steps and there's hubby pushing Zach in the stroller.

Here's Lilly right before we headed out.

Lilly trick-or-treating

Zach right before we left

Zach trick-or-treating

Yeah, they're a little out of order, but I'm too lazy to fix them today.
And as always, you can see these pictures and more here ...there's more pictures from last night.